GREENFIELD — A woman faces seven charges after staging an armed robbery in Greenfield and leading police on a high-speed chase that ended in her vehicle rolling over on Greenfield Road in Leyden on Sunday morning.

According to Greenfield Police Lt. Todd Dodge and Bernardston Police Chief James Palmeri, the driver had staged an armed robbery at Country Mart on Main Street in Greenfield shortly before 10 a.m. The suspect, who police declined to identify, reportedly “told the victim that she had a gun while she held her hand inside her jacket pocket and demanded money,” Dodge wrote in an email. The suspect was not actually armed.

A witness then provided the suspect’s vehicle description and registration number to police. The Shelburne Control Dispatch Center notified officers to be on the lookout.

“[Greenfield Police Officer] Patrick Merrigan later located the vehicle on Conway Street in Greenfield and while attempting to initiate a stop, the vehicle accelerated northbound,” Dodge recapped. “The vehicle would continue to flee northbound into Leyden where the operator lost control and rolled the vehicle onto its side.”

According to Dodge, the suspect and sole vehicle occupant was removed from her gray 2006 Nissan Frontier with help from the Greenfield Fire Department, who needed to remove the roof of the vehicle. Dodge wrote that while the woman sustained only minor physical injuries, she wasn’t arrested due to needing a “mental health-related medical follow-up” at Baystate Franklin Medical Center.

The rollover, which Dodge said occurred at around 10:15 a.m., led to the closure of Greenfield Road for nearly an hour. Palmeri, whose department provides policing services to Leyden through an inter-municipal agreement, said the road was reopened at around 11:05 a.m.

Other responding agencies included the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, which helped with traffic control, and both the Bernardston and Leyden Fire departments.

According to Dodge, the suspect first demanded money from a customer. The customer gave a dollar, “which the victim immediately took back from the suspect before punching her in the face.” According to Wahab Minhas, an employee whose father, Muhammad Hamayun, owns Country Mart, the woman grew enraged and demanded more from Hamayun. Hamayun then gave her $5 so that she would leave the store, according to Dodge.

“There’s never a dull moment,” Minhas commented.

Minhas said people coming into the store asking for money is a “daily” occurrence and, as a “mom-and-pop shop,” they try to help those in need when possible.

The suspect faces charges of armed robbery, speeding, operating a vehicle with a suspended license (subsequent offense), failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, a marked lanes violation and left lane restriction violation, according to Dodge. An arraignment date has yet to be set.

Minhas noted he feels Main Street has been “deteriorating,” in terms of an uptick in crime. He cited another recent crime where someone attempted to steal a customer’s car from the parking lot while the customer was shopping inside Country Mart.

“Main Street is becoming less and less safe,” Minhas said. “It’s definitely a trend.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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